Omar Khan has been very busy throughout the offseason, making all kinds of changes to the Steelers' roster.
While there have been additions such as Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, DK Metcalf at wide receiver and the recent acquisition of Jonnu Smith at tight end, how exactly could the 2025 offense look different than last year's counterpart?
MORE WIDE ZONE
The running game last season didn't exactly align with how Arthur Smith really wants to run the football. The crux of his run game has always revolved around wide zone/outside zone schemes with gap/man schemes being used more sparingly as a changeup.
According to Sports Info Solutions, the Steelers ran outside zone concepts 131 times last season, sixth-most in the NFL. That sounds like a lot, but just one season prior when Smith was in Atlanta, the Falcons ran it 202 times, the most in the NFL.
Why shift away from that? Because they didn't trust Najee Harris to properly execute those runs on a regular basis. That proved to be true with an average of just 3.1 yards per attempt on outside zone runs.
With Jaylen Warren, Kaleb Johnson and Kenneth Gainwell set to be the three main running backs this season, this trio is very capable of executing wide zone/outside zone concepts. We've seen Warren rattle off chunks in these schemes. Last season with the Eagles, Gainwell ran more zone than gap, and was better at outside zone (38.5% success rate) than inside zone (14.7% success rate), according to FantasyPoints.com. And during his final (and monster) season at Iowa, Johnson ran outside zone or mid zone (a slight variation in which the B-gap is the primary attack point) 79% of the time, according to SIS.
MORE 12 PERSONNEL
We know Smith likes to use tight ends, but the addition of Jonnu Smith from the Dolphins gives him even more reason to use 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) much more often.
Last season, the Steelers used 12 personnel 25.25% of the time, according to Sumer Sports, which ranked 12th in the NFL. Even with the crop of tight ends they employed last season, they ranked a respectable 13th in the league in EPA/play in 12 personnel. Now that there's a duo of Pat Freiermuth and Jonnu Smith, I expect much more two tight end sets.
Smith's heavily used 12 personnel in his past. When he was offensive coordinator of the Titans in 2020, he used 12 personnel 35% of the time, according to Sharp Football Analysis, which was tied with the Eagles for the highest usage in the NFL, and had the ninth-best overall success rate with two tight ends on the field.
More 12 personnel also means forcing the defense to keep their base personnel on the field more often. And having two tight ends that can be significant receiving threats, it could create a number of mismatches in the passing game while maintaining flexibility to run the football.
MORE PISTOL, SHOTGUN
Rodgers likes to use shotgun while Smith likes to use a good helping of formations under center. Something's gotta give, right?
This is one area I expect Smith to acquiesce to a four-time MVP, though Rodgers is obviously more than capable of playing from under center. Last season, 131 of the Steelers' 587 team dropbacks were from under center, a rate of 22.3%. Only 14.7% of the Jets' dropbacks last season were from under center. I'd expect Smith to give Rodgers more passes from the shotgun.
However, the Jets used more pistol formations than the Steelers last season. They threw the ball twice as often out of the pistol, and ran the ball 29 times out of the pistol compared to the Steelers' 16 attempts, despite the Steelers logging 170 more rushing attempts overall. The Jets ranked last in the NFL in rushing attempts while the Steelers ran the ball more often than all but three teams.
Smith hasn't shied away from using the pistol in his previous jobs. In fact, no team ran the ball out of the pistol more than the Falcons in Smith's final two seasons as head coach in Atlanta.
While Rodgers preferring to line up most often in the shotgun and in the pistol, it's more than understandable if the Steelers use both quarterback alignments more than they did when Russell Wilson and Justin Fields were calling the signals.
MORE ATTACKING MIDDLE OF THE FIELD
During Smith's three seasons as head coach in Atlanta, the Falcons consistently ranked among the highest in the league in play-action plays that targeted the middle of the field. In three straight seasons, from 2021-23, the Falcons ranked seventh, second and fifth, respectively, according to FantasyPoints.com.
Last season, it was a stark contrast with the Steelers, as they had just 15 play-action dropbacks in which the middle of the field was targeted, the fourth-lowest mark in the NFL. That was because Smith had Wilson and Fields as his quarterbacks, two guys that either don't want to or aren't trustworthy of attacking the middle of the field.
With Rodgers at quarterback, this opens up Smith's playbook to use the Kyle Shanahan play-action concepts he learned from Matt LaFleur in Tennessee that stress defenders that defend between the numbers, specifically the Drift concept and the Hi-Cross series.
During the four seasons Rodgers played under LaFleur in Green Bay, 38.5% of his attempts targeted the middle of the field, about 7.5% less often than the league average, according to SIS. However, he completed 77.3% of those passes while averaging 9.0 yards per attempt. That's 3.2% and one whole yard higher than the rest of the league.
In 2021, Rodgers ranked 15th with 22 attempts to the middle of the field out of play-action, according to FantasyPoints.com. On those attempts, Rodgers posted a ridiculous and league-best 158.1 passer rating. In 2022, he ranked second in the league with 37 attempts to the middle of the field out of play-action, posting a solid 108.4 passer rating.
Bottom line: Nothing in Smith's playbook is foreign territory to Rodgers. He's proven the ability to execute play-action concepts that can open up the entire field, not limit the offense to Wilson or Fields having to bootleg and run the same three-level concepts that usually hit outside the numbers.
MORE QUICK-GAME PASSING
Rodgers will use a lot of quick-game passing concepts. He did a lot of that with the Jets, and it's something he's been able to do in the league for a long time. Last season, only Joe Burrow had more pass attempts that targeted 0-9 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. And on such throws, Rodgers posted a 102.2 passer rating with just three turnover-worthy plays, according to Pro Football Focus.
Using the quick-game can help keep Rodgers upright. It wasn't an accident that Rodgers posted the fifth-fastest time to throw last season behind a terrible Jets offensive line. The Steelers' offensive line is a bit better, but it's also not quite developed to the point of trusting them to fully protect Rodgers to hold onto the ball a whole lot longer.
Plus, if the Steelers are using more 12 personnel this season, that'll give Rodgers two reliable targets to the middle of the field. Jonnu Smith ran 74 hitches last season, more than any other route. Freiermuth ran 78 hitches last season, but also ran 80 out routes. Rodgers was especially efficient throwing quickly to the outside, posting a 104.0 passer rating to the short left and 110.7 passer rating to the short right.
DK Metcalf can be utilized in the quick game, as he can attack with slants, hitches and outs. Yes, he will do his most damage downfield, but Metcalf is more than capable of working in this manner. Calvin Austin III can also be a weapon out of the slot for Rodgers. The only question that remains is what receiver might be added to be the primary WR2. If the Steelers add a guy who's mostly known for being a good route runner, that'll only put them in more position to run the quick game.
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THE ASYLUM
Chris Halicke
6:26 pm - 07.06.2025South SideFive changes we could see on offense
Omar Khan has been very busy throughout the offseason, making all kinds of changes to the Steelers' roster.
While there have been additions such as Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, DK Metcalf at wide receiver and the recent acquisition of Jonnu Smith at tight end, how exactly could the 2025 offense look different than last year's counterpart?
MORE WIDE ZONE
The running game last season didn't exactly align with how Arthur Smith really wants to run the football. The crux of his run game has always revolved around wide zone/outside zone schemes with gap/man schemes being used more sparingly as a changeup.
According to Sports Info Solutions, the Steelers ran outside zone concepts 131 times last season, sixth-most in the NFL. That sounds like a lot, but just one season prior when Smith was in Atlanta, the Falcons ran it 202 times, the most in the NFL.
Why shift away from that? Because they didn't trust Najee Harris to properly execute those runs on a regular basis. That proved to be true with an average of just 3.1 yards per attempt on outside zone runs.
With Jaylen Warren, Kaleb Johnson and Kenneth Gainwell set to be the three main running backs this season, this trio is very capable of executing wide zone/outside zone concepts. We've seen Warren rattle off chunks in these schemes. Last season with the Eagles, Gainwell ran more zone than gap, and was better at outside zone (38.5% success rate) than inside zone (14.7% success rate), according to FantasyPoints.com. And during his final (and monster) season at Iowa, Johnson ran outside zone or mid zone (a slight variation in which the B-gap is the primary attack point) 79% of the time, according to SIS.
MORE 12 PERSONNEL
We know Smith likes to use tight ends, but the addition of Jonnu Smith from the Dolphins gives him even more reason to use 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) much more often.
Last season, the Steelers used 12 personnel 25.25% of the time, according to Sumer Sports, which ranked 12th in the NFL. Even with the crop of tight ends they employed last season, they ranked a respectable 13th in the league in EPA/play in 12 personnel. Now that there's a duo of Pat Freiermuth and Jonnu Smith, I expect much more two tight end sets.
Smith's heavily used 12 personnel in his past. When he was offensive coordinator of the Titans in 2020, he used 12 personnel 35% of the time, according to Sharp Football Analysis, which was tied with the Eagles for the highest usage in the NFL, and had the ninth-best overall success rate with two tight ends on the field.
More 12 personnel also means forcing the defense to keep their base personnel on the field more often. And having two tight ends that can be significant receiving threats, it could create a number of mismatches in the passing game while maintaining flexibility to run the football.
MORE PISTOL, SHOTGUN
Rodgers likes to use shotgun while Smith likes to use a good helping of formations under center. Something's gotta give, right?
This is one area I expect Smith to acquiesce to a four-time MVP, though Rodgers is obviously more than capable of playing from under center. Last season, 131 of the Steelers' 587 team dropbacks were from under center, a rate of 22.3%. Only 14.7% of the Jets' dropbacks last season were from under center. I'd expect Smith to give Rodgers more passes from the shotgun.
However, the Jets used more pistol formations than the Steelers last season. They threw the ball twice as often out of the pistol, and ran the ball 29 times out of the pistol compared to the Steelers' 16 attempts, despite the Steelers logging 170 more rushing attempts overall. The Jets ranked last in the NFL in rushing attempts while the Steelers ran the ball more often than all but three teams.
Smith hasn't shied away from using the pistol in his previous jobs. In fact, no team ran the ball out of the pistol more than the Falcons in Smith's final two seasons as head coach in Atlanta.
While Rodgers preferring to line up most often in the shotgun and in the pistol, it's more than understandable if the Steelers use both quarterback alignments more than they did when Russell Wilson and Justin Fields were calling the signals.
MORE ATTACKING MIDDLE OF THE FIELD
During Smith's three seasons as head coach in Atlanta, the Falcons consistently ranked among the highest in the league in play-action plays that targeted the middle of the field. In three straight seasons, from 2021-23, the Falcons ranked seventh, second and fifth, respectively, according to FantasyPoints.com.
Last season, it was a stark contrast with the Steelers, as they had just 15 play-action dropbacks in which the middle of the field was targeted, the fourth-lowest mark in the NFL. That was because Smith had Wilson and Fields as his quarterbacks, two guys that either don't want to or aren't trustworthy of attacking the middle of the field.
With Rodgers at quarterback, this opens up Smith's playbook to use the Kyle Shanahan play-action concepts he learned from Matt LaFleur in Tennessee that stress defenders that defend between the numbers, specifically the Drift concept and the Hi-Cross series.
During the four seasons Rodgers played under LaFleur in Green Bay, 38.5% of his attempts targeted the middle of the field, about 7.5% less often than the league average, according to SIS. However, he completed 77.3% of those passes while averaging 9.0 yards per attempt. That's 3.2% and one whole yard higher than the rest of the league.
In 2021, Rodgers ranked 15th with 22 attempts to the middle of the field out of play-action, according to FantasyPoints.com. On those attempts, Rodgers posted a ridiculous and league-best 158.1 passer rating. In 2022, he ranked second in the league with 37 attempts to the middle of the field out of play-action, posting a solid 108.4 passer rating.
Bottom line: Nothing in Smith's playbook is foreign territory to Rodgers. He's proven the ability to execute play-action concepts that can open up the entire field, not limit the offense to Wilson or Fields having to bootleg and run the same three-level concepts that usually hit outside the numbers.
MORE QUICK-GAME PASSING
Rodgers will use a lot of quick-game passing concepts. He did a lot of that with the Jets, and it's something he's been able to do in the league for a long time. Last season, only Joe Burrow had more pass attempts that targeted 0-9 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. And on such throws, Rodgers posted a 102.2 passer rating with just three turnover-worthy plays, according to Pro Football Focus.
Using the quick-game can help keep Rodgers upright. It wasn't an accident that Rodgers posted the fifth-fastest time to throw last season behind a terrible Jets offensive line. The Steelers' offensive line is a bit better, but it's also not quite developed to the point of trusting them to fully protect Rodgers to hold onto the ball a whole lot longer.
Plus, if the Steelers are using more 12 personnel this season, that'll give Rodgers two reliable targets to the middle of the field. Jonnu Smith ran 74 hitches last season, more than any other route. Freiermuth ran 78 hitches last season, but also ran 80 out routes. Rodgers was especially efficient throwing quickly to the outside, posting a 104.0 passer rating to the short left and 110.7 passer rating to the short right.
DK Metcalf can be utilized in the quick game, as he can attack with slants, hitches and outs. Yes, he will do his most damage downfield, but Metcalf is more than capable of working in this manner. Calvin Austin III can also be a weapon out of the slot for Rodgers. The only question that remains is what receiver might be added to be the primary WR2. If the Steelers add a guy who's mostly known for being a good route runner, that'll only put them in more position to run the quick game.
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
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